Game-changing Infiniti QX50 headed to Detroit

Infiniti's new variable-compression engine could lead the way for engine technology

by
Clayton Seams | January 2, 2017

Small

Medium

Large

Infiniti will preview the next-generation QX50 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next week.

Originally introduced in 2008 as the EX35, the new QX50 will feature Infiniti’s swath of automated driving technology. Although unable to drive fully autonomously, you can expect it to drive itself during certain duties, such as stop-and-go traffic and highway slogs.

But the real news is under the hood. We reported on Infiniti’s new variable-compression-ratio four-cylinder engine back in August, theoretically solving an age-old problem with internal combustion engines where low-compression engines lack performance and high-compression engines can be intractable and unresponsive at low-revs. Infiniti’s solution is the experimental VC-T engine, which can vary the compression ratio between 8.4:1 and 14.0:1 via a cleverly designed mechanism that allows the crank of the engine to move up and down in its journals.

Expect power on par with the outgoing 3.5-litre V6 and improved fuel economy.